Sell them off to whom?
Oh wait, let me guess.
Posted on 02/12/2022 9:58:18 AM PST by Capt. Tom
What happened Shares of Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings (NYSE:NCLH) took a tumble on Thursday after the cruise line operator announced plans to sell as much as $2.1 billion worth of senior secured notes due in 2027, senior unsecured notes due in 2029, and exchangeable senior notes due in 2027 -- none of which terms investors need to pay close attention to. Just think of them all as debt.
The company will use the cash raised from the sale of these notes to roll over debt that it sold previously, such that the net result of all this activity should be ... Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings remaining essentially as far in debt as it was before.
As of 2:35 p.m. ET, Norwegian Cruise stock was down by 2.6%.
So what Is that a good reason for investors to be selling off Norwegian Cruise stock, though? Perhaps not, especially as the company's stated reason for this financial maneuvering is to get rid of debt that's costing it anywhere from 10.25% to 12.25% annually, and replace it with lower-interest debt.
That being said, there was other news Thursday that may be contributing to the stock's decline. To wit, investment bank Citigroup announced that it has downgraded Norwegian Cruise from buy to neutral, with a $25 price target that implies there's only about 8% upside left in the stock over the next 12 months.
Now what Citi's downbeat assessment of Norwegian Cruise's worth is a more likely reason why investors are selling it lower. As the analyst pointed out, the COVID-19 "inflicted substantial and lasting damage" on the company, reports TheFly.com. Its efforts to stay afloat through the pandemic left Norwegian Cruise loaded up with more than $13.1 billion in debt -- debt that this rollover will do nothing to diminish. And the need to pay interest on all that debt (even if it succeeds in securing more palatable interest rates) has done "significant damage" to the company's future earnings power.
This, in a nutshell, is why Citi is downgrading Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings stock. It's also why -- at a valuation of 58.5 times forward earnings -- Citigroup doesn't think the stock is worth buying, and I cannot say I disagree.
Theres going to be an end to their roll over opportunities ..
Theres a final payday coming and it wont be pretty ...
Sell them off to whom?
Oh wait, let me guess.
I just assumed from day one that the only way these companies would survive the lockdowns was to be bailed out by government.
Hey, mind if we put this fill up on your card?
Theres a final payday coming and it wont be pretty ...
I can't believe the Billions of dollars in loans to these unprofitable cruise lines have continued so long. It's like the creditors don't care about getting their money back.
And it looks like we are going into a recession that will affect some of the future passengers. -Tom
Low rates. Why would anyone pay off debt now?
From the excerpt cluttering up the comment area.
“... to get rid of debt that’s costing it anywhere from 10.25% to 12.25% annually, and replace it with lower-interest debt. “
Even the mafia won’t lend them money and the ships used as collateral aren’t worth much at this point. Maybe the dock facilities and buildings can be sold.
It appears the government has targeted the cruise line industry? They used the CDC to implement mandates that drove customers away. Furthermore, no bailouts or tax incentive’s have been offered. Are they targeting this industry to hurt Florida? I don’t know, curious what others think.
I hope Norwegian doesn’t go the way of Crystal. I have enjoyed cruising with them.
Just called off a Spring Danube cruise due to national and personal financial uncertainties. May need more “hunker down” money.
Wise choice—in an inflationary environment you want a big cushion...for necessities.
Hey, why not. The government continually bails out the airline industry and NYC.
Soon they'll be more worried about throwing good money after bad... Could be time to take the losses and accept reality.
Just got off Celebrity Reflection and saw NO difference in all the QUALITY they ha e always HAD! FABULOUS champagne, lobster galore,fine filets, Maccallun flowing!
How can they pay off debt when they haven’t made any money over the last few years?
Cruise stocks have nowhere to go but up commensurate with COVID weakening.
“It appears the government has targeted the cruise line industry? “
Yes, it appears government targeted many places where large groups gather. In the early days I thought it was cover for anti-terrorism. But as it went on, it seemed to be for keeping the common people away from places/things that used to be the domain of the rich...air travel, salons, resorts, restaurants.
As far as the cruise industry, aren’t most owned by other nations, employ mostly foreigners? Not many votes to buy.
The stock can rise, but the Company can fail. -Tom
And high inflation. You don’t pay off debt now, when inflation will whipe it out later.
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